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Sonnen is no longer the only game in town for heavily subsidised energy storage in South Australia, with an announcement yesterday Alpha-ESS had joined the Home Battery Scheme.

SA’s Home Battery Scheme began accepting subsidy applications on October 29. Battery systems that are or will be manufactured/assembled in the state have been given a head-start for the subsidy, which is up to $6,000 per instance. Battery systems from other manufacturers won’t get a look-in until the beginning of next year.

Up until yesterday, there was only one choice of battery manufacturer during the initial nine weeks; Germany’s Sonnen, which is establishing an assembly plant at the former GM Holden manufacturing site in Elizabeth. Sonnen recently released subsidy-inclusive prices for its battery systems in South Australia purchased direct from the company – they aren’t cheap.

Sonnen now has some initial competition in the form of Alpha-ESS. The company claims 10,000 of its battery systems have been installed in more than 30 countries around the world, including thousands in Australia.
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Nantong City, China, Alpha-ESS also has offices in Italy, Germany and Australia.

The company will initially assemble systems in SA in partnership with Minda Commercial Enterprises, which is South Australia’s largest non-government disability support organisation.

“This will provide ongoing work opportunities for South Australians with disability,” saidAlpha-ESS Managing Director Dr Dong Lin. “This is a perfect fit with our commitment to world’s best social and environmental outcomes.”
Alpha-ESS will also be making use of Minda Commercial Enterprises’ warehousing, logistics and dispatch services, plus Minda will handle recycling of packaging and electronics/batteries once they reach the end of their service life.
Alpha-ESS will later move to a dedicated facility and plans to manufacture more than 8,000 systems per year in Adelaide by 2020.

Only one Alpha-ESS model is currently listed on SolarQuotes’ solar battery comparison table; the ECO S5. It features just under 13kWh of usable capacity and we note an estimated price of $12,375; although this figure may be out of date. It doesn’t appear that particular system will be available under the SA Home Battery Scheme; instead other models from the company’s all-in-one Storion range will be offered.

Alpha-ESS says it has batteries available for immediate installation in South Australia.

As part of his Energy announcements this week, Minister Angus Taylor has finally heeded calls from solar consumers led by Solar Citizens to rule out axing the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme.

‘Energy consumers are tired of being taken for a ride by electricity retailers, which is why Australians are installing solar at record rates so that they can take the power back into their own hands,’ says Solar Citizens National Director Joseph Scales.

Today, representatives of Solar Citizens are in Parliament to lock in this announcement with our open letter which collected nearly 10,000 signatures. Solar Citizens will be meeting with Minister Taylor’s office, and with Labor’s Shadow Minister Mark Butler and Greens’ spokesperson Adam Bandt.

Solar Citizens mobilised thousands of solar consumers to call on the Federal Government to rule this out:

Nearly 10,000 signed our open letter to the Energy Minister (jointly with Smart Energy Council);

Hundreds of constituents contacted their MP asking them to join our call to rule out axing the SRES; and,

numerous people wrote to their local papers and had letters to the editor published which explained the benefit of the SRES.

‘This is a huge win for solar consumers around the country – saving the SRES will keep the installation of rooftop solar affordable so that more Australians can enjoy the benefits of solar and lower their energy bills,’ concludes Mr Scales.

The Abbott Government also backed down from cutting the SRES and the RET in 2015 when Solar Citizens delivered petitions with 28,000 signatures to the Government.

A record amount of solar capacity and renewable power was installed across the world in 2017 – as the cost of both wind and solar became competitive with fossil fuels – but it still is not enough, a major new report has found.

The annual Renewables 2018 Global Status Report from REN21, a renewables policy organisation, notes that a record 98GW of solar capacity was added, as well as 52GW of wind, and a total of 178GW of renewables.

Including large hydro, this amounted to $US310 billion of new investment, nearly twice that of new fossil fuels and nuclear capacity, and the global share of renewables is now at 23 per cent, with wind and solar providing 7.4 per cent.

But while the growth in renewables electricity was pleasing and continues the transformation of the electricity sector, REN21 says it is concerned by the lack of change in transport, cooling and heating, which means the world is lagging behind its Paris climate goals.

“We may be racing down the pathway towards a 100 percent renewable electricity future but when it comes to heating, cooling and transport, we are coasting along as if we had all the time in the world. Sadly, we don’t,” said Randa Adib, executive secretary of REN21.

Adib’s concern was shared by investors representing $26 trillion of assets under management, which used the prelude to the G7 Summit in Canada to call for governments to step up their ambition and action to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.

“The global shift to clean energy is underway, but much more needs to be done by governments to accelerate the low-carbon transition and to improve the resilience of our economy, society and the financial system to climate risks,” investors wrote in a joint statement.

Emma Herd, the CEO of the Investor Group on Climate Change, the Australian chapter of this group, says investors are stepping up in unprecedented numbers, but could do so much more if governments acted too.

“Investors could do even more if governments delivered the policies required to effectively manage climate risk and accelerate investment in low-carbon solutions.”

Labor’s Mark Butler said this was a clear reproach to Australia’s Coalition government, which refuses to lift its weak 2030 target even though most analysts say it will be largely met – in the electricity sector at least – by 2030.

“The Turnbull government’s weak National Energy Guarantee is projected to deliver no new large-scale renewable energy investment over the 2020s,” he said in a statement.

“And far from being on track to delivering their weak targets, according to the government’s own data emissions are projected to increase all the way to 2030.”

The REN21 report said of particular concern was global energy demand and energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which rose for the first time in four years in 2017, by 2.1 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively.

“In the power sector, the transition to renewables is under way but is progressing more slowly than is possible or desirable,” it says.

“If the world is to achieve the target set in the Paris agreement, then heating, cooling and transport will need to follow the same path as the power sector – and fast.”

The scale of the problem is illustrated in this chart above, which shows all energy usage, including the oil-dominated transport sector, and the traditional biomass for heating and cooking.

The heating, cooling and transport sectors – which together account for about four-fifths of global final energy demand – continue to lag behind the power sector.

Around 92 percent of transport energy demand continues to be met by oil and only 42 countries have national targets for the use of renewable energy in transport.

However, increasing electrification is offering possibilities and more than 30 million two- and three-wheeled electric vehicles are being added to the world’s roads every year, and 1.2 million passenger electric cars were sold in 2017, up about 58 per cent from 2016.

Currently, electricity provides just 1.3 per cent of transport energy needs, of which about one-quarter is renewable.

There is little change in renewables uptake in heating and cooling. National targets for renewable energy in heating and cooling exist in only 48 countries around the world, whereas 146 countries have targets for renewable energy in the power sector.

Small changes are under way. In India, for example, installations of solar thermal collectors rose approximately 25 per cent in 2017, as compared to 2016. China aims to have 2 per cent of the cooling loads of its buildings come from solar thermal energy by 2020.

“To make the energy transition happen there needs to be political leadership by governments,” says Arthouros Zervos, the chair of REN21.

“For example by ending subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear, investing in the necessary infrastructure, and establishing hard targets and policy for heating, cooling and transport.

“Without this leadership, it will be difficult for the world to meet climate or sustainable development commitments.”

The 124MW (AC) Sun Metals solar farm overtakes the 100MW Clare solar farm as the biggest in the state, and began exporting into the grid late on Wednesday.

The solar farm is notable because it will be used to supply around one-third of the power needed by the Sun Metals zinc refinery, and its low cost (and cost certainty) will likely underpin a $300 million expansion of the complex.

With the rapid proliferation of solar in Australia has come many solar companies. How do you find a good solar installer? The vast majority of them try to do the right thing but there are some solar scams out there you need to be aware of. Here’s a guide to make sure you don’t get ripped off on your solar power installation!

Solar scams

The first thing to do if you’re interested in installing a solar system is check whether the company is accredited.

The industry body for the designer, installer, and the actual products is the Clean Energy Council. Make sure your system is designed by a Clean Energy Council accredited designer. Double check that your installer is also CEC accredited. If you’re not sure, the CEC have a list of Approved Solar Retailers you can choose from.

Solar Scams – Choose a CEC Accredited Installer (source: CEC)

Double check that your panels and the inverter are accredited and meet Australian standards. If they aren’t CEC accredited, you won’t get your rebates aka Small Scale Technology Certificates (STCs) – this rebate is generally around $2,000 for a 3kW system. Click here to read more about STCs from the Clean Energy Regulator or click here if you want to use their online STC calculator.

How do I pick the right solar company to avoid solar scams?

Ask if the person designing your system is qualified to do so. According to Choice.com.au, this will shrink your retailer list by 90% and weed out all the designers who will do a poor quality job and leave you with an under-performing solar system.

Avoid anyone with pushy sales tactics and avoid anyone that uses door-to-door sales as a sales technique. If they’re using language like ‘never pay a power bill again’ or trying to hurry you along by saying that the government rebates are about to end, avoid them again.

For price, make sure you get 4 quotes at minimum. Watch out for dodgy T&Cs that allow suppliers to swap out for ‘equivalent’ models, upselling, surcharges, and so on. Don’t be afraid to stop a salesman from steamrolling over you. This is a big financial decision and you should do your due diligence before committing.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have a page about consumer rights for solar powerthat you should also check out (especially if you have a problem).

What information do I need on the quote?

A proper, printed out quotation showing the company’s name, address, and ABN.

A timetable of operation.

Model numbers, brands, and quantity for the panels, inverter, and battery (if applicable).

An estimate of the system’s performance.

Product and installation warranty for the inverter.

Installation warranty, product warranty and performance warranty for the panels.

Any additional funds that may be payable.

STCs should be included in the quote. This is a big one! Be wary because if you’re not careful some dodgy companies can just claim them without mentioning it to you.

If Saving With Solar can give you a hand to help pick the right solar company, please feel free to get in contact with us and we’d be happy to help.

An analysis of the big electricity price surges during the February heatwave in New South Wales suggests that rooftop solar on homes and businesses across the state likely reduced the market price of wholesale electricity by nearly $1 billion over three days.

The analysis by Marija Petkovic, of consulting firm Energy Synapse, says that without rooftop solar the total cost of market prices would have been $888 million higher, because peak demand during the heatwave, when temperatures soared to 45°C, would have been higher and longer.

Rooftop solar PV supplied only about 2 per cent of the state’s total power needs over that time – or about 17GWh – but its impact on the market was to cut the price of electricity by 60 per cent, delivering savings of $888 million.

Rooftop solar also likely delivered considerable savings in markets in Queensland and South Australia over the same period, although Petkovic says she has not crunched the numbers on those states, and there are many other factors to consider.

It also adds to the considerable benefits of rooftop solar during heatwaves, a time when Australia’s electricity networks are at their most vulnerable. While coal and gas plants in NSW, Queensland and South Australia tripped or failed to operate to capacity due to heat-related problems, rooftop solar performed exactly as expected.

So much so that the NSW government has said rooftop solar played a crucial role in keeping the lights on in the state, when the heatwave pushed the grid to its limits. Only the Tomago aluminium smelter had to suffer a forced outage.

The Petkovic analysis also highlights another issue with rooftop solar and the way it is compensated. Despite saving $888 million, the actual “market value” of the rooftop solar put into the grid was only around $9.6 million, or $550/MWh. Householders would have been lucky to receive 8c/kWh, or $80/MWh, for their output. Many would have received less.

This issue was highlighted in an earlier story “NSW rooftop solar saved the day but householders got paid a pittance”, quoting analyst Dylan McConnell, from Melbourne’s Climate and Energy College, who said rooftop solar clearly played a major role in reducing stress on the grids in Queensland and New South Wales, and kept a cap on prices. But got little reward.

So how did Petkovic arrive at her numbers? “The interesting question to me was how would the electricity market cope if there was no small solar?” she writes in a post on LinkedIn. “This is difficult to quantify, but my attempt considered three factors:

What would electricity demand in NSW look like if the generation from small solar had to be met by the market. Data published by the Australian PV Institute was used for this analysis.

Given this new demand profile, what would the 30 minute electricity price be in the wholesale market. To develop the likely set of prices without small solar, the 5 min bid stacks published by AEMO were examined for each period where small solar was generating power.

What would be the cost to the market with small solar (i.e. the actual cost that was incurred) vs the cost without small solar (i.e. the estimate derived from 1 & 2).

This graph above shows the data for February 9 to 11. The light green shading shows the actual electricity demand that was seen by the market, while the dark green shading shows the estimated generation from small solar PV.

The effect of small solar on all three days was to reduce the length of peak demand and to push the peak to later in the afternoon.

The black line is the actual 30 minute pool price that was seen in the NSW wholesale market. The grey line, says Petkovic, is the pricing that would have resulted if the power generated by small solar had to be met by the market, assuming that bidding behaviour remained the same.

“Under these conditions, the effect of small solar was to significantly depress pricing in the wholesale market,” she writes. “Furthermore, it is likely that AEMO would have called for involuntary load shedding during the afternoon of Friday February 10, as there were periods with not enough generation bids to meet the extra demand that small solar was covering.”

So how much money would have been saved? The second graph shows the total electricity cost without small-scale solar (dark green) and the total electricity cost with small-scale solar (light green).

“Over the three-day period, small solar reduced the cost to the market by roughly $888 million,” Petkovic writes. “Even though small solar only covered 2 per cent of electricity demand, it cut the price of electricity by 60 per cent from an estimated volume weighted average price of $1920/MWh to $780/MWh.”

Could such figures be replicated in other states? Petkovic says possibly, but it is difficult to say if it would happen to the same extent.

“The issue with Queensland is that there is so much rooftop solar. If that solar wasn’t there, there would almost certainly be another generator in the market. This introduces significantly more uncertainty into the analysis and I wanted to be careful not to overstate the benefits.”

However, as we reported in February based on McConnell’s analysis, there is no doubt that rooftop solar delayed the peak in that state, and it wasn’t until rooftop solar started to wind down that the state’s gas generators were able to wield their market power, and push prices higher, as this graph shows.

The irony out of all this is that even though the network operators have admitted that rooftop solar narrows and delays the peak, they and the big retailers have fought against higher feed-in tariffs because they say the peak is not actually removed.

This sort of analysis underlines the benefits of rooftop solar. It is removing the ability of gas generators to set the price as high as they might otherwise, as well as providing perfectly reliable generation in the middle of the heatwave, when the fossil fuel generators were breaking under the stress of the heat. In short, they helped to keep the lights on.

In the meantime, the majority of solar households now on new “market” tariffs are receiving only the estimated average wholesale price of electricity over a year. That has meant a jump in NSW to between 11c and 14c/kWh, from July 1, and the inclusion of climate benefits with a defacto carbon price in Victoria.

But still, there are no network benefits – and only those households which are signed up with software providers such as Reposit, Redback and others, are able to tap into variations in market price.

How cheap is solar? Cheap enough, says the head of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, to drive the transformation of our grid to zero emissions. Cheap enough, he says, to inspire some people to install air conditioners on their verandah to cool the air outside the house, as well as inside.

Source: Wendy Miller, Senior Research Fellow, Queensland University of Technology (via The Conversation)

The latter, quite bizarre example was given by ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht at the recent Emissions Reduction conference in Melbourne to illustrate just how cheap solar has become.

He came across a home owner in Townsville, north-eastern Queensland, who had installed a very large rooftop solar system, and planned to use it to power an air conditioning unit on the verandah.

“He likes to have cool air on his face while he is sitting outside outside,” Frischknecht said. “And this is fine, because if you are only running it in middle of day, and using the solar, the energy is free.”

Indeed, noted Frischknecht, solar was becoming so cheap, and will become so abundant, that we will reach the situation where the kilowatt hours of use (i.e. the production) are effectively free. The cost will come in managing the variability, and integrating it into the grid.

But even here, contrary to much that is written, Frischknecht says the technologies to do that are available now, in the form of battery storage, demand response, pumped hydro and a “whole bunch of solutions that can ensure that the lights stay on.”

The challenge comes down to rewriting the market rules and regulations, and reframing business models, so that these technologies are rewarded for their services, and not punished.

He cited the use of battery storage.

“If you have a battery today and charge it up –you have to pay transmission costs and distribution costs and a share of RET, and when you discharge it again and sell the output, you pay all those costs again,” Frischknecht said.

“You are adding 50 per cent to the cost of energy getting stored. That’s a pretty big barrier to put in place of a mechanism we need.”

Frischknecht says it is not hard to look forward and imagine a world where many things would be quite different, and when a lot of centralised fossil fuel generation is made redundant by the falling costs of renewables.

“The cost of solar PV will be so cheap it will literally cover every surface – packaging, buildings, cars, roads. Energy will be cheap, but we will still got this variable output issue. We are going to have to figure out different ways of pricing and dealing with variable output.”